JBS SA (JBSS3), the world’s biggest beef producer, may move after
JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its recommendation to the equivalent
of buy. Power utility Cia. Energetica de Minas Gerais may be
active after Brazil’s regulator Aneel said the company will
increase electricity rates by 2.99 percent starting today.

Economists covering Brazil lowered their forecasts for
manufacturing growth this year, according to a central bank
survey. Industrial production will grow 3 percent, down from an
estimate of 3.12 percent one week earlier, the survey released
today showed.

The Bovespa (IBOV) has retreated 13 percent from this year’s high
on Jan. 3 amid concern accelerating inflation may curb Brazil’s
economic recovery and the government’s interventionist policies
will hurt profits in industries including utilities and energy.
The MSCI BRIC Index (MXBRIC) of shares in Brazil, Russia, India and China
has lost 8.7 percent over the same period.

Brazil’s benchmark equity gauge trades at 11 times
analysts’ earnings estimates for the next four quarters,
compared with 10.3 for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) of 21
developing nations’ equities, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Trading volume for stocks in Sao Paulo was 7.69 billion
reais ($3.87 billion) on April 5, which compares with a daily
average of 7.45 billion reais this year through April 4,
according to data compiled by the exchange.